Cleaning bag for dentures



Nov. 6, 1956 F. W. JACKSON CLEANING BAG FOR DENTURES Filed Feb. 9. 1948 FIG.

FIG. 4

FIG. 6.

www

ATTORNEY ab .ww

United States Patent F CLEANING BAG `non DENTURES Forest W. Jackson,'Los Angeles, Calif. Application February 9, 194s, serial No. 7,043

z claims. (C1. 1st-210) This invention relates to a disposable denture cleaning bag, and to a method for cleaning dentures.

One object of my inventionis to provide a neat and convenient method for cleaning dentures following use. Another object is to provide a treated disposable bag in which full or partial dentures may be neatly and effectively cleaned. Still another object is to provide a disposable article for cleaning dentures which is compact and readily carried in the pocket or purse. A `further object is to provide an inexpensive and compact means which requires only added waterfor effectively cleaning dentures, and which may be thrown away after use. v

These and other objects are attainedib'y my invention which will be understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings in: which:

Fig. l isa front elevational view`of a form of my denture cleaning bag; Y

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken Fig. 1; Y

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fia 1;

Fig. 4 is a developed view of `theblank used in making the denture bag;

' along the two side edges.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of a preferred form l of a denture cleaning bag;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5, showing adhesive joining of the fabric edges; and

Fig. 8 is across-sectional view similar to Fig. 7, showing the self-sealed fabric edges of a denture bag.

My invention is based upon the discovery that a denture after use in the mouth, may be effectively, safely, quickly and conveniently cleaned by the successive operations of enclosing it in a water-absorbing fabric preferably with a dry detergent, and then, after moistening the fabric with water, manipulating the packaged denture with the fingers to wipe off with the inside surface of the fabric any food remnants, denture sticking preparation, or the like. The now common use of difficulty soluble viscous and sticky preparations on dentures adapted to hold the dentures more securely in place in the mouth has provided a diflicult problem of cleansing the dentures. My invention, while simple, fills a long felt want, and provides a method and means for cleaning dentures which eliminates the old but never satisfactory, and wholly distasteful method of brush scrubbing, and also the equally repulsive and ineffective method of long soaking in a cleansing liquid.

While my denture cleansing method may be carried out with various types of enclosing means or envelopes, made of cloth or other materials, I prefer to use a cleaning bag consisting generally of a fabric envelope with an overlapping flap in which the denture may be completely enclosed, followed by moistening of the fabric and fingermanipulation of the fabric against the denture surfaces. The denture bag, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, consists of a 2,769,193 Patented Nov. 6, 1956 lCC front wall 14 and a back wall 12 which is extended to form a flap 13 by which the pocket opening may be closed. The back wall, front wall and flap are preferably made from asingle piece of fabric cut as shown in Fig. 4, and folded to form the closed bottom fold 17, with stitching 16 The pocket is preferably lined with a sheeted fibrous material which to some degree disintegrates when moistened and manipulated, and this lining material is preferably held by the same stitching 16 which holds the front and back walls together at the side seams. The lining 15 is conveniently made in a single piece folded to form a closed bottom with an opening corresponding to the opening of the fabric bag.y The lining material consists of sheeted fibers which are only loosely matted or. felted so that the lining sheets become disintegrated into lumps or balls of fiber which are capable, with finger manipulation, of thoroughly cleaning all parts of the denture. The fibers forming the lining 15 may be chemical or mechanical wood bers, cotton, rayon, or other similar fibrous materials.

The fabric forming the envelope or bag may be woven or matted, fibers in the form of cloth, felt, flannel, conventional paper, parchment, or one of the newer forms of matted fiber sheets in which the long natural or artificial fibers are matted into a thin fabric either with or without added adhesive or fiber bonding agents. The outer envelopefabric must be sufciently durable, when moistened, to withstand the manipulation by the fingers of the fabric and liner over the surfaces of the denture in the operation of cleaning. The fabric must be readily wetted by water.

- Cheese cloth,l parchment paper and Webril 439 fabric on" the line `22 .of

have been successfully used in the preferred form of denture bag above described in which a disintegratable liner is used. Sheeted chemical wood pulp, sheeted Acotton felt such as Masslinn have beensuccessfully used for the envelope liner material.

The outer stronger fabric and the softer lining material may be prepared as a single fabric sheet, as shown in the preferred form of my invention shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, in which the envelope 11A consists of a backwall 12A, a flap 13A, a front wall 14A; the inner rough or soft surface being indicated at 15A and the outer smooth and more durable surface being indicated at 15B.

Instead of the stitching shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the edges of the envelope may be fastened with a layer of an adhesive such as a waterproof glue, rubber cement, synthetic plastic adhesive or the like, as shown particularly in Fig. 7. Suitable matted fiber fabrics of the newer types', for example Webril 439, are also available in which the fibers are held together by a bonding material which becomes adherent when heated, and when such sheeted materials are used in making my denture bags, the edges may be self-sealed by the application of heat at the margins of the envelopes, as shown at 16B in Fig. 8. Self-sealing mated fiber sheets may also be used.

The lining material 15, or the inside surface 15A of the single layer envelope 11A, is preferably impregnated or coated with a detergent composition in dry form, either as a distributed detergent powder, or as a dried film from a dispersed and dried detergent spread on the fibers. The impregnating material may vary widely in composition, but consists generally of a denture cleaning composition such as a mild abrasive powder such as chalk with a powdered detergent such as soap or sodium lauryl sulfate or other suitable synthetic detergent material, with deodorant or flavoring materials such as oil of wintergreen, which may be added in sufficient amount to provide a pleasant residual flavor or odor after the denture has been cleaned and rinsed. The amount of the detergent and polishing material may be varied, depending upon the specific ingredients and their relative proportion. For illustration, a mixture of eighty parts of chalk, eighteen parts of powdered neutral soap, and two parts of flavoring material has been found satisfactory. The proportion of this composition used in impregnating the lining is not critical but a sulcent amount is used to satisfactorily perform the operation of cleansing the denture; I have used amounts from tive to fifty percent of the weight of the lining.

The general method of using my denture cleaning bag has heretofore been indicated. Specifically, it consists in placing the denture in the envelope and then closing the flap. The bag is then moistened and the denture is cleaned by manipulation from outside the bag by the fingers, the lining with its impregnated detergent and polishing material becoming more or less disintegrated and may form some fragments or wads of material, which, when rubbed over the denture, promotes thorough cleaning of the irregularities. The denture is then removed from the bag, rinsed off in clear water and is immediately ready for use. The denture bags are intended for single use and disposal after use. Where desired, a dry envelope may be used for protective storage of the denture, for example, overnight, or in the pocket.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent. The denture bag may be readily carried in a purse or pocket and the denture may be cleaned wherever a small amount of water is available. The use of the denture cleaning bag also prevents accidental breakage and injury to the dentures through dropping them during cleaning by the usual method with a brush, Which, as is well known, is a common and expensive occurrence. The cleaning of dentures may become, by the use of my method, a simple, neat and sanitary operation.

The bags may also be used for cleaning and polishing jewelry, medals, coins and the like.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 779,249, led October 1l, 1947, now abandoned,

I claim:

1. A denture cleaning article adapted for a single use before disposal comprising a water absorbent fabric en- 4 velope having a wide opening adapted to receive a denture and flap means overlapping the opening of said envelope, the inner surface of the fabric of said envelope being impregnated with a denture cleaning composition, said fabric having sufficient initial mechanical strength when moistened to withstand manual rubbing manipulation by the fingers to cleanse the denture enclosed in said envelope but said fabric being nally disintegrated into a wadded mass by said manipulation and the article being thereby limited to a single use.

2. A denture cleaning article adapted for a single use before disposal comprising a water absorbent matted fabric envelope having sucient initial mechanical strength when moistened to withstand manual rubbing manipulation by the fingers to cleanse a denture enclosed therein, the inner surface of said envelope being impregnated with a denture cleaning composition, said envelope being disintegratedk to a wadded mass by said manipulation and being thereby limited to a single use.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES VPATENTS 1,517,615 Chynoweth Dec. 2, 1924 1,530,459 Carmichael Mar. 17, 1925 1,683,458 Hall Sept. 4, 1928 1,954,641 Mathes Apr. 10, 1934 2,038,957 Reach Apr. 28, 1936 2,060,238 Nilson Nov. 10, 1936 2,176,308 ,Larkin Oct. 17, 1939 2,198,164 Hall Apr. 23, 1940 2,210,728 Orfald Aug. 6, 1940 2,377,118 Weisman May 29, 1945 2,409,314 Rambold Oct. 15, 1946 2,428,443 Whitehead Oct. 7, 1947 2,530,746 Wetherby Nov. 2l, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,955 Great Britain Mar. 30, 1914 201,266 Great Britain Aug. 2, 1923 444,237

Great Britain Mar. 17, 1936 

